House Approves Quicker Path To Divorce For Some

Legislature send bill to governor that would streamline divorce proceedings in certain cases

Attempting to reduce the high price of divorce, the state House of Representatives granted final legislative approval Tuesday to a bill allowing quicker and cheaper divorces.

The House approved the measure 135-12, with four members absent. It allows the dissolution of marriages if non-adversarial partners meet a series of standards, including having no children and owning less than $35,000 in joint property. They must also have been married for eight years or less, among other requirements.

"Divorce is something that is a plague in our society, and I'm afraid it costs a lot of people a lot of money,'' said Rep. Dan Carter, R-Bethel. "Sometimes folks get wrapped up in the system, and it gets very adversarial.''

Rep. William Tong, a Stamford Democrat who co-chairs the legislature's judiciary committee, said the bill was being offered "to provide a streamlined and expedited process'' for "a somewhat narrow group of people'' who meet the financial and other guidelines.

To be eligible for the quicker divorces, neither of the partners can be receiving Medicaid benefits or own any real estate. They also cannot have a defined benefit pension plan, which can be an added complication in a divorce. The two parties cannot have any civil restraining orders or protective orders issued by the court.

With a quicker process, the legal fees would be less, lawmakers said. As a result, the divorces would be granted more quickly, and judges could spend their time on more contentious cases, lawmakers said. The measure would help clear the calendars in the family courts.

The married couple going through the divorce could still represent themselves, Tong said.

If all the requirements are met, the couple can avoid the current 90-day waiting period, and the divorce could be granted without a hearing if all parties agree.